Ezishnola magnisignata, László, 2025

Ezishnola magnisignata View in CoL sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AA15CC8F-8ECC-4972-ABCA-79EAE22A2428

( Figs 29–32 View Figures 16–30 View Figures 31–37 , 53–55 View Figures 50–55 , 71–72 View Figures 67–74 )

Holotype. Female , “ LIBERIA 865m / Lofa County, Wologizi Mts, / Ridge camp / 8°07'10"N, 9°57'11"W / 24–29.xi.2017 Light Trap / (blended bulb 250W) / Aristophanous, M., Sáfián, Sz., / Simonics, G. & Smith, L. leg. / ANHRT:2017.33” // “ANHRTUK / 00145388” // “SAMPLED FOR: / DNA” // “Gen. slide No. / LGNA 1841 ♀ / prep. by Gy.M. Laszlo “ ( ANHRT). GoogleMaps

Paratypes.

Côte d’Ivoire. 2 males, Mt. Tonkoui Peak , 07°27'15.2"N, 07°38'12.5"W, 1171m, 19–27.xi.2019, MV and actinic light trap, Aristophanous, M., Dérozier, V., Moretto, P., Ouattara, S. leg., gen. slide Nos: LGNA 1308, LGNA 1985 ( ANHRT) GoogleMaps . Guinea. 1 male, 2 females, 619km ESE of Conakry, Nzerekore Region , Prefecture de Lola, Ziela env., 540–600m, x.2017, 7°42'N, 8°21'W, local collectors leg., gen. slide Nos: LGNA 1311 (male), LGNA 1309, LGNA 1842 (females) ( ANHRT) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Forewing length 9.5–10.0 mm in males, 10.5–11.0 mm in females. Ezishnola magnisignata sp. n. closely resembles E. xantholeuca , E. truncata sp. n. and E. inscripta sp. n.; however, it has a noticeably darker forewing ground colour with a brownish sheen and lacks a postmedial-subterminal patch. Nevertheless, the accurate identification of this species requires genitalia dissections, especially in the case of worn specimens. The sympatric E. cretacea and E. carcassoni are easily distinguished from E. magnisignata sp. n. by their larger size and considerably darker, more variegated forewing markings.

In terms of the male genitalia, E. magnisignata sp. n., E. inscripta sp. n. and E. congolana sp. n. are highly similar due to their conspicuously elongated valva shape; however, the valva is distally more tapered with the narrowest rounded apex in E. magnisignata sp. n., compared to its close allies.

In the female genitalia, E. magnisignata sp. n. is readily distinguished from all other Ezishnola species by its excessively large, elliptical signa bursae and conspicuously short tubular distal section of the corpus bursae.

Genetic information. Ezishnola magnisignata sp. n. belongs to the BIN URI: BOLD AFG2483. The infraspecific divergence calculated from four samples is in the range of 0.00–0.31%. The genetically closest taxa are E. inscripta sp. n. and E. congolana sp. n., diverging by 1.08–1.56% and 1.57–2.36%, respectively.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the excessive signa bursae in the female genitalia of this new species.

Distribution. Ezishnola magnisignata sp. n. is known only from West Africa, with confirmed records from Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia.